BULGARIA TO LAUNCH LARGE SCALE PRIVATISATION IN 2011
Bulgaria will start a large scale campaign to sell off state-owned companies and minority stakes, econ.bg reported. The privatisation programme for 2011 includes tourist company VMT Orbita and Bulgarian Rose State Laboratory, which will be removed from the list of state run companies not slated for privatisation. Arms producer VMZ will also be removed from this list and put up for sale, once the parliament adopts a privatization strategy for the company, representatives of the economy ministry said as cited by econ.bg.
The 2011 privatisation strategy also includes local tobacco producer Bulgartabak Holding, the Svilengrad Free Trade Zone and possibly the Rousse Free Trade Zone. Construction company Montazhi will be sold through the stock exchange. The state also plans to sell off its minority stakes in a number of companies, among which Nestle Ice Cream Bulgaria and several electricity distributing companies.
